Jolie
"So that's it for her? She's one of the lost?" -Simone Jolie is a jengu shapeshifter and a minor character from the Island of Fog book series by Keith Robinson. She makes her debut in the fourth book, Lake of Spirits. Biography Jolie was part of the Shapeshifter Project led by Professor Bart. Unlike other shapeshifters, Jolie was born on the Second Earth, a realm similar to Earth but populated by both humans and mythical creatures. Like all shapeshifters, Jolie was meant to be a bridge between the worlds, to allow humans to learn about and communicate with the miengu, a race of aquatic beings with healing powers. While other shapeshifters were bred in the Other World where their powers came late in childhood, Professor Bart tried to use a machine to monitor the oxygen of his world, hoping that would keep Jolie's jengu side from surfacing too early. However, the plan failed and one-year old Jolie transformed into a jengu and being so young, she was trapped as one. With no other alternative, Bart asked a young Simone to bring Jolie to the nearby miengu to be raised as one of their own. Sixteen years later Simone traveled to the lake with Molly the gorgon shapeshifter and a new generation of shapeshifters. One held a faerie ball which Simone hoped would restore Jolie's deep-seated memories and human instincts. With her to act as a bridge between humans and miengu, the two species could learn to work together. Her ability to heal would also prove invaluable. However Jolie's mischievous ways may escalate into disaster and prove more trouble than expected. Like sirens luring ships onto rocks, Jolie seems sweet-natured at first... but Hal and his friends slowly discover that there's more to her than meets the eye. Can they figure her out before the proverbial ship smashes itself to bits? Personality At first, Jolie appeared as an innocent, shy and sweet-natured girl with a soft, happy demeanor. She was kind to everyone and played the part of an innocent girl perfectly. In reality Jolie is an incredibly cruel and frighteningly malicious woman. She had no empathy for anyone and saw others as simply a source of amusement. While her species needs negative emotions for power and energy, she and her kind relish in the chaos and pain they bring and feel only apathy for their victims. Jolie is a master manipulator who easily fooled everyone and effortlessly lured them into trouble. She took every chance she got to cause pain and felt no remorse. Appearance Jolie is a young woman of seventeen or eighteen with long black hair, pale skin and dark brown eyes. In her jengu form, Jolie resembles a mermaid with a slender fish-like tail in lieu of legs. Unlike a mermaid, Jolie is completely covered in fish scales, even on her human half and she has a set of gills on her neck. Her eyes are pitch black with no iris or sclera and her ears are pointy like an elf's. Jolie's entire being emits a bright, otherworldy light. Despite her almost sinister appearance, her mermaid glamour makes men see her as strangely beautiful and alluring. In human form, Jolie's glamour is even more effective without her scales and black eyes. Without her glamour, Jolie is incredibly hideous and grotesque. Her long hair becomes an oily mess, her piranha-like fangs dirty and uneven, her limbs thin and skeletal with glimpses of muscle visible beneath the pale, translucent flesh. Her face is long and painfully thin with sucked in cheeks, a high, narrow forehead and a very large chin. Her sunken eyes are misaligned and her mouth is twisted into a hideous snarl. Her hands are skeletal with blackened clawed fingers. In jengu form she is even more hideous with her scales, pointy ears and pitch black eyes. Abilities * '''Shapeshifting: '''Jolie can effortlessly change from human to jengu form and vice versa. The transformation is caused by will rather than contact with water. ** '''Healing: '''Every time she changes forms, Jolie's cells regenerate, allowing her to heal quickly and fight off infections and disease. * '''Underwater breathing: '''Like mermaids and humans, miengu have lungs and can breathe air. They also have a set of gills on their necks which enable them to breathe underwater like fish. The transition from water to air is uncomfortable as Jolie has to empty out all the water in her lungs. * '''Telepathy: '''Miengu communicate underwater via telepathy. This is the ability to read minds and project thoughts and words into another's mind. * '''Air bubbles: '''Miengu can breathe giant bubbles full of oxygen which enable others to breathe. * '''Glamour: '''Miengu possess a glamour even more powerful than the mermaid's spell. The miengu's glamour makes them appear strangely alluring and enchanting. The form of the miengu depends on the observer. For example, men see female miengu as mesmerizing while females would see them as ordinary. Women with ill feelings towards the jengu would see her as she really is, a hideous monster. Though only a theory, the elder jengu once said that her kind may be capable of greater power as well as loose their dependency on negative feelings if they stopped wasting their energy on maintaining their stunning glamour. It is unknown if this is true or if it is even possible to turn off a glamour without the power of a phoenix. ** '''Enchantment: '''The miengu glamour clouds the minds of men and women. They can't help but be attracted to the miengu. Their stunning appearance has lured many men to a watery grave. Even if a jengu's horrible personality is discovered, if a person were to look upon the jengu's gorgeous glamour, the spell would make him think of reasons to justify not harming or punishing the creature. An influx of magic will increase the strength of their enchantment, allowing them to charm monsters into protecting them out of instinct and even nearly hypnotize those who know about the ways of the miengu. * '''Healing: '''Miengu have the power to heal all illnesses. However, they cannot make this badness simply disappear. They can only transfer a disease into another creature via touch. By touching a sick being, the jengu absorbs the illness. She can pass it on to someone else. However, the new occupant must be big enough like a pig, dog or cat to hold the illness or the disease will flow out and infect all who are near. The miengu cannot heal physical wounds like cuts or broken bones. See Also * Simone, a mermaid shapeshifter. * Miengu Category:Characters Category:Merpeople Category:Literature Merpeople Category:Transformed Merpeople